Another perspective on 25 Antique era samples from Syunik (Aghitu) from Skourtanioti et al. 2025.

Another Perspective on 25 Antique-Era Samples from Syunik (Aghitu), Skourtanioti et al. (2025)

The majority of the samples occupy an intermediate position between Iron Age Syunik (marked as LIA) and modern Syunik, which is expected. The shift from LIA to modern Syunik may have been caused by a source similar to Turkey Iron Age (IA) populations, including samples from the Van and Batman regions.

The remaining samples display various shifts: some toward the Iranian Plateau, one case with a strong shift toward the Levant, and at least two cases shifted toward Anatolia or even Europe.

I do not think that all of these samples necessarily date to the Hellenistic period. Only one has a radiocarbon date, while the others are dated archaeologically, which can be misleading in cave contexts. However, if they are indeed from the Hellenistic era, this would suggest that the Etiuni genetic profile persisted in Syunik for quite a long time.

Most of the Y-DNA lineages are typical of the Etiuni profile, particularly R1b-L584. The remaining haplogroups may also be local, such as J2-M92 and E1b. I2a1-L699 could likewise derive from the Etiuni population. If the reported G1 haplogroup is accurate, it may originate from northwest Iran, though a local origin is also possible. The paper itself does not mention G1; it was identified by users of Genarchivist.

There is little doubt that most of these individuals were Armenian speakers during their lifetime.